Education

M.A. in World Languages, Literatures, & Linguistics. West Virginia University, USA (2016)

M.A. in Secondary School Teaching, Vocational Training and Language Teaching. The National Distance Education University (UNED), Spain (2014)

M.A. in Diplomacy and International Relations. Diplomatic School of Madrid, Spain (2007)

B.A. in Translation and Interpreting. University of Salamanca, Spain (2006)

B.A. in Tourism, graduated first in class. University of Oviedo, Spain (2004)

 

Professional Development

Ligmincha Symposium for Contemplative Sciences. Contemplative Sciences Center, University of Virginia (UVA), VA

Teaching and Learning in the Arts and Humanities. Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE), UVA, VA

Faculty Seminar on the Teaching of Writing. UVA, VA

"Corregir y retroalimentar la producción oral en el aula." Instituto Cervantes, on-line course

"Creación de espacios y materiales de enseñanza en línea." Instituto Cervantes, on-line course

Course Design Institute, Center for Teaching Excellence. University of Virginia, VA

Fundamentals of Project-Based Language Learning Online Institute & Online Symposium: The Power of Project-Based Language Learning. University of Virginia, VA

Certificate in University Teaching. West Virginia University, WV

Kognito Training modules: At-risk Students, Veterans on Campus, and LGBTQ on Campus. West Virginia University, WV

Diploma of Spanish as a Foreign Language (DELE) A1-C2 Examiner. Instituto Cervantes, on-line

 

Research Interests

Contemplative Practices in Higher Ed and Language Learning

Language Teaching

Instructional Technology (ePortfolios)

Second Language Acquisition

Women Studies

International Relations

 

Teaching

• At the University of Virginia
  • SPAN 1010 (Elementary Spanish)
  • SPAN 1020 (Elementary Spanish)
  • SPAN 2010 (Intermediate Spanish)
  • SPAN 2020 (Advanced Intermediate Spanish)

• At West Virginia University
  • SPAN-101 (Elementary Spanish I)
  • SPAN-102 (Elementary Spanish II)

• At the Spanish Cultural Center of Bata (Equatorial Guinea) associated to the Instituto Cervantes
  • Intermediate Spanish
  • Elementary Spanish

• Other teaching experience
  • English Teacher at the Spanish School of Bata in Equatorial Guinea (High School level students)

 

Departmental Work

Member of the UVA Spanish Theater Group (Spring 2019-present)

Co-organizer and developer of the Spanish Cultural Weekly Newsletter (Spring 2017-present)

Co-organizer of Spanish Italian, & Portuguese (SIP) FilmFest (Fall 2017-present)

Co-organizer of the UVA Spanish Tertulia (2017-2018)

 

Publications

“Reivindicación del deseo sexual femenino en Luna caliente de Mempo Giardinelli y Ardiente paciencia de Antonio Skármeta, ¿ruptura o continuismo con el boom?” Middle Atlantic Review of Latin American Studies. 1(2), pp. 54–61.

 

Selected Presentations

“How to Do Group and Pair work in the Online Classroom?” co-presented at the IWL Online Teaching Series (moderator of the panel). UVA, Charlottesville, VA. April 2020.

“Incorporating Contemplative Practices in College Language Courses: a Common Approach with Different Pathways” co-presented at the 2020 Contemplative Practices for Higher Education Conference. Virginia Tech, Roanoke, VA. March 2020.

“New Writing Assignments for Language, Film, and Composition courses” co-presented at the Fall Roundtable Session organized by the IWL as follow-up activity to the Faculty Seminar on the Teaching of Writing. UVA, Charlottesville, VA. November 2019.

“The Use of Virtual Reality in the Language Classroom: a More Experiential Approach to Cultural Content” presented at the Teaching with Technology Summit. UVA, Charlottesville, VA. October 2019.

“Prácticas pedagógicas contemplativas en la enseñanza de lengua extranjera” co-presented at the XXXIX ALDEEU International Congress. UVA in Valencia Program. Valencia, Spain. June 2019.     

“Contemplative Practices for Building Inclusive Classrooms” presented at the 6th Annual UVA Innovations in Pedagogy Summit as part of the 2017-2018 UVA Contemplative Faculty Learning Community. UVA. Charlottesville, VA. May 2018.

“Learning by Reflecting: the Integration of Reflective Writing in the Second Language Classroom” presented at the 28th Annual Graduate and Professional Symposium on Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Literature, Language, and Culture. University of Arizona. Tucson, AZ. February, 2018.

“E-Portfolio Reflections: Meaning-Making Tools to Enrich the Learning Experience” presented at the AAEEBL SE Regional Conference. UVA. Charlottesville, VA. November, 2017.

“Mobilizing Peer Feedback and ePortfolios for Powerful Collaborative Learning” presented at the 5th Annual UVA Innovations in Pedagogy Summit. UVA. Charlottesville, VA. May, 2017.

 

Grants and Awards

Thrive Grant funded by the Office of the Provost and administered by the CTE to develop and implement a collaborative cultural project using virtual reality with 360 technology. UVA, Charlottesville, VA (Fall 2019-Spring 2020)

Grant from the Mead Endowment to organize a Spanish dinner with local community members to engage with students outside the classroom and provide a real-life learning experience. UVA, Charlottesville, VA (Fall 2019-Spring 2020)

Activity Grant for Language Program Faculty from the A&S Learning Design & Technology to co-organize a Contemplative Retreat in Spanish per semester at the Language Commons. UVA, Charlottesville, VA (Fall 2018-Spring 2020)           

Arts and Sciences Diversity and Inclusion Grant to co-organize the Spanish Italian, & Portuguese SIP FilmFest. UVA, Charlottesville, VA (2019)

Grant from the Contemplative Sciences Center to Develop Reflective and Contemplative Techniques to Implement in Language Teaching Courses (2017-2018)

Grant from the Institute of World Languages for the Spanish Tertulia, University of Virginia (2017-2018)

 

Service/Volunteer Work

Elected member of the Peer Evaluation Committee, Academic General Faculty (AGF) at the Department of Spanish, Italian, & Portuguese. UVA, Charlottesville, VA. Fall 2019-present.            

Representative of Arts & Sciences at the General Faculty Council (GFC). UVA, Charlottesville, VA. May 2019-present.

Volunteer interpreter for the Charlottesville Immigrant Transit Assistance Group (CHITA). Charlottesville, VA. 2019-present       

Volunteer translator and interpreter from home and at jail visits to detainees for CAIR Coalition, Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights. Washington, D.C. 2017-present            

Volunteer at Sin Barreras, non-profit organization helping the local immigrant (primarily Hispanic) community. Charlottesville, VA. 2017-present